1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that is capable of setting an insert, an image forming apparatus, a method of controlling the information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, such as a copy machine, to perform simple image editing or post processing, it is general that the screen displayed on a console section is caused to shift to a screen for a selected one of various processing modes, and detailed settings are configured for the selected processing mode.
An insert insertion mode is known as one of such processing modes of the image forming apparatus. An insert includes an interleaf sheet and a chapter sheet, and the interleaf sheet is a different type of sheet to be inserted between pages of a printed matter as an indication of a partition of pages for easy check of the number of printed pages.
On the other hand, the chapter sheet is a different type of sheet to be inserted between pages of a printed matter similarly to the interleaf sheet, but is used for indicating a partition of chapters, and has an image of an original page printed on one side or both sides thereof, as in the case of an inside title of a booklet.
By using a sheet, such as color paper or a tab sheet, which is different in type from sheets used for printing original pages, for the interleaf sheet or the chapter paper, it is possible to produce a booklet which enables a user to easily view the inside title and a partition of chapters.
According to a conventional method of setting an insert on the console section, it is necessary to shift to a screen for setting the insert insertion mode and switch between a plurality of hierarchical displays, which requires the user to perform go through a procedure of many setting operations and hence is not user-friendly.
Particularly, a method of setting a page where an insert is inserted by inputting a numerical value makes it difficult for the user to grasp an insertion position where the insert is to inserted between original pages, and actual post processing is sometimes not executed at a desired position, which degrades quality of a printed matter or requires reprinting, causing lowering of productivity and resource saving performance.
To solve this problem, there has been proposed a technique in which originals are displayed on a preview screen as preview images, and simple editing of original images and setting of post processing are performed by touch operations on a touch panel while causing results of the editing and setting to be reflected on the preview images, whereafter the original images are printed or post-processed as displayed on the preview screen (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-282439). For example, when inserting an interleaf sheet, a user puts his/her finger on a preview image of the interleaf sheet, and drags the preview image with his/her finger to thereby insert the interleaf sheet between pages.
However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-282439 describes the method of operating the preview screen for inserting an interleaf sheet, but does not describe a method of setting an insert on which an original page is printed, such as a chapter sheet.
Therefore, when inserting a chapter sheet by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-282439, it is necessary to print, out of original pages, a page for which a chapter sheet is to be used, on a sheet in advance, and configure the settings such that the printed sheet is inserted as an interleaf sheet. This makes the setting procedure complicated and troublesome.